WEDNESDAY, May 16 (HealthDay News) -- Hemorrhagic stroke patients are less likely than ischemic stroke patients to receive cholesterol-lowering medications and smoking cessation counseling, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's 8th Scientific Forum on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke in Washington, D.C.
Eric E. Smith, M.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues from the American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines Steering Committee studied entries at 662 hospitals for 149,089 ischemic strokes or transient ischemic attacks, 17,195 intracerebral hemorrhages, and 5,503 subarachnoid hemorrhages.
The researchers found that cholesterol-lowering medications were prescribed to 77 percent of ischemic stroke patients, 67 percent of intracerebral hemorrhage patients and 62 percent of subarachnoid hemorrhage patients. They also found that smoking cessation counseling was offered to 71 percent of ischemic stroke patients, 63 percent of intracerebral hemorrhage patients and 55 percent of subarachnoid hemorrhage patients.
"These data suggest that the formation of guidelines for secondary prevention of cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease following hemorrhagic stroke may be warranted," the authors conclude.
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